A task group of ASTM Committee F08 on Sports Equipment and Facilities seeks input as they develop
a standard for climbing walls. Climbing equipment manufacturers,
designers, engineers, and end-users are invited to participate.

The group intends to devise a useable, fair, and safe standard
for engineers, architects, climbing wall designers, and building
inspectors, and through enforcement, to protect the consumers
we serve, said John M. Pinckney, who is leading the activity.

The proposed standard will quantify live loads acting on all types
of climbing walls. Climbing walls can be permanent or portable;
small or tall, Pinckney said. Current trends see climbing walls
being built in retail stores, health clubs, amusement parks, university
athletic facilities, special events, military training facilities,
etc.

Quantifying safe design of climbing walls is important to balance
safety vs. cost over design, explained Pinckney, vice president
and head of design, Entre Prises USA, Bend, Ore. Specialized
circumstances could always convince a licensed engineer to modify
a design constraint, but the standard would provide a base line.